Tag Archives: Krug

Speak of champagne and a plethora of possible food pairings will spring to mind: caviar, foie gras, and other luxurious likes. This year, the House of Krug subverts conventions yet again, releasing its second global publication of unexpected food pairings with its famed champagnes in Singapore. The food item of choice this year: eggs.

“Poached, scrambled or fried?” is a collection of unique egg-based creations from 17 of the world’s highly talented Krug Ambassade Chefs. While basic, common and very humble, the egg opens up a world of transcendent possibilities when paired with the KrugGrande Cuvee. An exquisite blend of 120 wines from more than 10 different years, the pairing is a classic commoner-meets-royal marriage. As always, the result is magical and sublime.

More than just a simple collation of original food pairings, the publication also marks the gathering of some of the most esteemed chefs worldwide, doubling it as a tribute to the culmination of culinary expertise. Swedish photographer Jenny Zarins also lends her artistic proficiency to this publication, lensing the chefs with her characteristic subtle lightheartedness.

“Poached, scrambled or fried?” can be found in Krug Ambassades and Krug restaurant partners, all of whom will be celebrating Krug & Egg with specific menus and experiences throughout the year. Egg-citing times wait ahead.

In a humid, dimly lit cellar of French Champagne house Ruinart, Cyril Guisant turns by hand some 60 bottles tilted downward in an A-frame-shaped rack. He is one of the “remueurs“, or riddlers, who with the dedication of a monk to tradition manually rotates the bottles of the great Champagne makers to loosen the sediment at the bottom left by yeast during fermentation.

“We come by two or three times a day, and turn the bottoms in a way to make the sediment move toward the neck of the bottle,” said Guisant, explaining the task of his dwindling group of remueurs. “And we work on the rack (of bottles) like reading a book, from left to right, from top to bottom.”

Dom Perignon, Moet et Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot and Ruinart, a roster of famous appellations owned by the world’s No. 1 luxury company LVMH, still use for a small part of their production manual “remuage“, or riddling. At this crucial phase sediment is collected in the neck of the bottle so it can be removed, a process nowadays mainly done by machines.

At Reims in northern France, Ruinart, the oldest Champagne house founded in 1729, traditional remuage by hand is reserved for the most prestigious vintages, which take several years to mature in the coolness of its eight kilometres (five miles) of galleries dug deep in limestone, some dating from the Middle Ages.

“You need around 10 years of experience to be a ‘remueur‘, to know whether to rotate the bottle a quarter, an 8th or a 16th, and to the right or to the left,” said Guisant of the process that takes about two months. It means learning “to read the wine” to carry out this extremely precise rotation.

“We take the bottle and we analyse the sediments, for example, if they are stuck or not…,” explained Raphael Joyon, a “remueur” at Krug, the only house that each year produces just prestigious vintages, known as “cuvees de prestige”.

Joyon estimated that there are about eight remueurs in France’s Champagne region still working for the biggest domaines, a token of tradition for the image of these houses at a time when they have already automated many tasks.

Krug, for example, uses remuage by hand for about a fifth of its production, manager Dorian Drancourt told AFP.

The other bottles are titled downwards in rows of 300 to 500 in big metal crates, and placed in a machine known as the “gyropalette”, which is programed with a precise rotating movement.

“Our manual work on a sample of bottles also helps to program the machines more precisely for the rest of the vintage,” added Joyon standing under a brick arch in a Krug cellar dating from 1843.

After several weeks of the skilled turns of the remueurs, the bottles are handed over to the “degorgeur” — or disgorger — who will plunge the bottleneck into a refrigerating solution to turn the deposit into a frozen plug which is then ejected under pressure when the bottle is opened.

After final corking the Champagne bottles are kept in storage for durations determined by the particular house before being sold.

A bottle of 1915 Krug champagne went under the hammer for $116,375 in New York, one of just four left in the cellars of the sparkling drink makers.

The lot sold Friday also included a tasting journey for four people who will enjoy the bottle on location in France’s northeastern Champagne region.

In 2011, a bottle of 1841 Veuve Clicquot 1841 was purchased for a record 30,000 euros ($43,000). And two 1959 Dom Perignon Rose bottles fetched $84,700 at wine auctioneers Acker Merrall & Condit in 2008.

The Veuve Clicquot bottle had spent an estimated 180 years under water in the hold of a schooner off the Finnish coast.

The Krug bottle, sold during a Sotheby’s auction, never left the House of Krug cellars, today managed by luxury conglomerate LVMH.

The anonymous buyer of the bottle will visit the House of Krug for two days with three guests.

In addition to the Private Cuvee 1915, the buyer will also taste some of the rarest and most refined drinks made there, as well as a meal prepared by Arnaud Lallement at his restaurant L’Assiette Champenoise.

Krug Champagne has released an innovative package that includes a bottle of Krug Grande Cuvee, two Joseph crystal glasses by Riedel, and a porcelain shell that fits onto the glass rim.

Drinkers are invited to put their ear to the glass and listen to the effervescent sound of rising bubbles to highlight the proverbial sixth sense of the champagne-drinking experience: sound. Designed by Ionna Vautrin, the idea was inspired by seashells which echo the sound of the sea.

Renowned French champagne house Krug, part of the LVMH luxury empire, is coming out with a new bespoke offering in time for the holidays.

Called Krug ‘On My Own Terms’, the luxe case can be ordered with a personalized plaque in either metal, mirror, or saddle leather bearing the Champagne Krug coat of arms and the recipient’s name or initials.

Founded in 1843, the house of Krug has been providing the world with fine champagnes for six generations now and the legendary winemakers have now collaborated with equally celebrated trunk-maker Pinel & Pinel to create a limited edition Krug Escape Artist champagne trunk collection.

It consists of three different trunk designs, each of which is covered and lined in fine leather. Each also contains, in addition to two bottles of Krug, its ownerâ€™s ‘preferred means of escape’ â€“ through gambling, cigar-smoking or music.

The Krug Escape Artist Trunk also contains four Baccarat crystal glasses, a Krug stopper and a Krug champagne cooler, created exclusively for the collection by leading designer FranÃ§ois Bauchet. Lastly, a secret drawer holds four Pinel & Pinel nickel-plated brass coasters with leather base.

MoÃ«t Hennessy Asia Pacific has made one trunk each of this design available at the DFS Wine Shop in Singapore Changi Airportâ€™s Terminal 3 and Sky Connection in Hong Kong International Airport where it is retailing at HK$188,000 ($24,000 usd).

Krug, the French champagne house, has come up with a new way to attract luxury consumers by offering the world’s most expensive balloon rides, available in locations all over the world ; in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Tuscany, France â€“ and Gloucestershire.

Besides the obvious trip up in a luxury balloon (gleaming hardware, basket lined with premium white leather) you also get gourmet dining complete with champagne and butler service while you’re in the air for a price tag of â‚¬50,000 for a group of up to 8 people.

Harrodsâ€™ luxury Krug Trunk is meant for true aficionados constantly on move. The champagne trunk is just perfect for carrying your bubbly with you!

The luxury trunk is corrosion-proof and features a classic red calfskin interior with three bottles of Krug Grande Cuvee champagne and an ice-bucket designed by Francois Bauchet. Besides storing your coveted champagne the trunkâ€™s lid also serves as a table to come in handy on your outdoor trips.

The well-crafted champagne crate is available in limited edition of 30 pieces only with a price tag thatâ€™s as ornate as it is for $54,000.